An Amarillo original: Historic Firestone set to begin new chapter later this year

During the restoration process of the Firestone building in downtown Amarillo, workers and managers had to monitor the maximum PSI of the pressure washer used on the decades-old brick.

That’s just one example of the level of detail it’s taken those in charge of the project to turn the historic vehicle service and tire distribution center at 1004 S. Tyler St. into The Firestone — 13 luxury lofts anchoring a community living space that those in charge say will provide modern city living while honoring a piece of Amarillo history.

The nearly 100-year-old building was listed in the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places on July 21, 2015, as the “Louis H. Smith Inc. Firestone Store.” That opened the door for federal and state historic preservation tax credits to offset the qualifying costs for owners and first-time developers Sally and Gary Jennings of Amarillo — and to help with the minutia needed for the transformation to adhere to the strict requirements, the couple and architect Gregg Bliss sought the help of a consultant from Houston that specializes in historic preservation.

“You don’t get to change the windows and you don’t get to change the colors or anything like that,” Bliss said. “You maintain the integrity of the original façade.”

That included holding onto the original wood trusses and masonry walls and floors. Downstairs, where the tire showroom used to be, terrazzo floors are maintained and modernized. In at least one upstairs apartment, discoloration from oil and other materials the garage stored there is sanded over, but kept in the final wood flooring product.

The first residents in that apartment and the other dozen at the corner of South Tyler Street and Southwest 10th Avenue could move in starting Dec. 8. The apartments are being built by Southwest General Contractors. The project’s price tag is estimated at nearly $3 million, with Center City of Amarillo pitching in a $20,000 facade grant to help bring the building back to life.

Respecting history

The Firestone opened its doors 87 years ago to much fanfare, including a visit from Harvey Firestone, who traveled down from Akron, Ohio, for the ceremony in 19830.

Bliss, who was also responsible for the unique transformation of the Herring Bank branch downtown at 400 S. Pierce St. (see the Globe-News article “Other People’s Business: Funeral chapel-turned-bank nominated for renovation award” from October 22, 2017) said he didn’t think it was difficult to picture living spaces where workers once sold and installed tires.

“It was completely vacant and the floors were completely open,” he said. “We saw the possibilities of how these could really be loft type apartments and that we had something really great to begin with.”

Taking a chance

Gary and Sally Jennings were in the same class at Tascosa High School and both attended Amarillo College. He went to Houston where he had a dental practice from 1978 to 2011. She went to Austin when she had a job with Oracle and began working as an independent investor.

When they returned for their 40th high school reunion, they hit it off. They have been married now three and a half years.

“I dropped everything, he just came and got me,” she said.

“I just took a chance,” he said.

They say the latest chance they’re taking has broader ramifications.

“In my estimation, the reason I left was ‘Oh, there’s nothing here for me,’” Sally said. “With this project, we wanted to do something to help keep people here.”

She credits Gary with the vision for the rejuvenated Firestone. Gary said he had been monitoring the city’s downtown decline in the Amarillo media, and he took that chance when he returned six years ago with some extra time and capital on his hands.

“I saw the grand scale for downtown development,” Gary said, “and I thought ‘You know what? I think I might like to be part of that.’”

The cost of luxury

The couple knew they would need the tax rebates to complete the estimated $2.8 million rental property.

Federal credits can equal 20 percent of the approved costs of a project, with state credits amounting to another 25 percent of the costs, Gary Jennings told the Globe-News at the outset of the project.

Without them, Sally Jennings said their dream could not have been realized.

“There’s no way we would have been able to do this kind of restoration because it’s very expensive to do it,” she admitted.

The restoration will produce three two-level apartments, five apartments on the building’s lower level and five on its second floor. They will range in size from about 650 to about 1,460 square feet and will lease for around $1,200 and up.

Gary Jennings said the price point is justifiable.

“For this type of project and the unique amenities it’s going to have, for (things like) the location, security, and parking, we are happy with the rents we’re going to have to charge,” he said.

Bliss agrees.

“They are on the high-end for Amarillo, but we think we have a special project,” he declared.

Unique amenities

The apartments will feature large kitchens, ample cabinet space, new stainless steel appliances, French door refrigerators, concealed control dishwashers, full-size washers and dryers and modern European decor.

“We’ve gone with (that) decor to kind of make it a very eclectic atmosphere with all the original trusses, the original terrazzo, so each apartment is unique and has its own personality,” Sally Jennings said.

Her husband is excited about the project’s “urban alley” that will take up 2,400 square feet of what used to be the driveway in the front of the business. It will be a gathering place for apartment residents and their guests, complete with live trees, trellises, skylights, furniture, wireless internet and more.

“It’ll be a place where people can hang out, meet their friends, look at the Santa Fe lights, even go out under the canopy in nice weather,” Gary Jennings said.

They may even incorporate the heavy steel floor of the freight elevator the garage once used to take tires and supplies up to the second floor.

“We’ll clean the steel and treat it some way, and Gregg came up with the idea of perhaps hanging that in the urban alley and putting a big screen TV on it,” Gary Jennings said.